Zombie Wiki
Crossroads to Hell By Matthew R. Chapter 1 :::My name is Matthew Rhodes, and I'm writing this article as my only chance to let the world know of the horror that has befallen my town. If you are reading this, I'm probably no longer amongst the living.... for the most part........... ::I live in a small town called Roseville, in Ohio. It's a farming community, and nothing exciting ever happens. 22% of the residents in Roseville are under the poverty line, and there's a shortage of jobs in the area. Well, there had been a shortage, before ChemCorp came into the area. They came in, saying that the clay in our area was perfect for catalysts in the petroleum industry. They gave jobs to over 500 people, in a town of 2000. We all thought it was a miracle; until the rumors started... Old Billy "Scud" Robins worked at the new factory, as a maintenance technician, and he claimed he saw things in that building. Unnatural things. No one believed him... at first... And then, strange things started happening.... ::One morning, the town was abuzz. Apparently, someone had mutilated Charlie Walken's cattle. One was his prize bull. All around the carcasses, there were human footprints. But,no one could imagine anyone else in the town doing such a thing, so, Charlie decided to set a trap. The next night, he tied another cow in the barnyard, and hid in the barn loft. As he waited, he began to grow tired, and, just as he was about to doze off, he heard something coming through the bushes. He readied his rifle, and watched as a man came into view. But there was something not quite right about the man. He walked as if he were drunk, and he was wearing an orange jumpsuit, with "Subject 1a" on the back. Charlie immediately lowered the rifle, and climbed down, to see if the man was alright; for, now that he saw the man, he pitied him. As he approached the man from behind, he started to say: "Hey there, friend. What can I do for y..." He froze. The man turned around, and began shambling towards Charlie. He was moaning, and Charlie threatened him with the gun. "Stop where you are, or I'll shoot ya'" he said. The man didn't stop. Charlie told him again, to no avail. When the man refused to stop after the second warning, Charlie pulled the trigger, and shot the man right through the chest. Seeing as how the rifle was his .30-06 deer gun, it blew a hole the size of an apple in the stranger's chest. That's when Charlie realized something wasn't right about this man. The man was unfazed by the shot, and continued to walk. Charlie shot two more rounds into the stranger, each having the same impact as the first. Finally, Charlie raised the rifle to his shoulder, and shot the stranger in the head. The man halted, moaned, and fell to the ground face first, revealing the grapefruit sized hole in the back of his skull. Something wasn't right, and Charlie knew it... ::The next morning, Charlie told everyone about what happened, and no one believed him - that is - until he showed them the body. In the light of day, it was quite easy to see that the dead man had been in a state of ill health. Pale skin, bloated, and he smelled something awful. Before anyone could examine the body closely, the ChemCorp teams showed up, and cordoned off the area. They claimed the man had been a test subject for a medication aimed at extending life, and that he had escaped, dazed and confused. Charlie couldn't be charged with murder, because he had been threatened on his own property, and had responded with all legal force. But, we all knew that ChemCorp was hiding something from us. Something evil. ::As I slept that night, I had a dream that there were hundreds of people just like that man walking throught the city. And, in my dream, as I turned around, there was one of them, jaws open wide, ready to tear my face off. I awoke with a start. "I have to be ready. Just in case." I said to myself. I went to my closet, and pulled out my guns. I had my old .22 my Grandpa had given me as a boy, the 9mm Luger P-08 my dad bought me for my 18th birthday, and my old 12ga shotgun. I spent the rest of the night cleaning each of them, and making sure they were in good working order. I grabbed my ammo belts (for 9mm and 12ga rounds), and ammo pouch (for .22 shells), and put enough ammo in them to be prepared. I also packed a small bag with some MRE's (military rations), a first aid kit, and of course, my hunting knife, along with some clean clothes. I also put my replica Civil War Cavalry Saber in the trunk of my car. I didn't know for sure if anything was going to happen, but it's a Hell of a lot better to be prepared! ::As I left my house to go to school (college), I noticed the flashing lights up on Main Street. I ran up to see what the fuss was all about, only to discover a body laying on the sidewalk. What made it worse was the fact that it appeared to have been partially eaten. I could clearly see the radius and ulna of the left arm, and part of the jaw. He had been disemboweled. The most disturbing part of it all was the presence of bloody footprints around the body... human footprints... :: I watched as they loaded the body into the Medical Examiner's van, and begin to drive away. I thought that was it, until I saw the van swerve, and go off the road. I, and everyone else present ran to see if we could help. When I arrived at the back door of the van, I heard sounds coming from inside. It sounded like the driver had been injured, because he was moaning loudly. As I reached for the handle of the door, the door flew open, surprising me, and knocking me to me on my back. As I looked up, I didn't know what to think. I saw a man standing there, only he wasn't a man. He was torn. Hie clothes covered in blood, a bone jutting from his leg. It wasn't the injured driver. No, this man wasn't wearing the uniform. There was only one other answer as to who this man was. It was the man who had been lying - dead - on the ground only minutes before. I reached into my pocket, and drew my knife. As the man came down on me, jaws open, I jabbed the blade upwards, into the soft flesh under the chin. He immediately fell silent, and moved no more. The knife had gone into his brain. And as for the driver: well, he was dead. The side of his neck had been torn out. That's when I realized that it might be the bite that causes these people to come back, and I knew that the brain was their weakness. I grabbed a broken branch that had been knocked off by the van, and approached the driver's door cautiously. I opened it, and, with a moment of hesitation, I swung the branch down, hard, on the lifeless driver's skull. It landed with a sickening thud, which meant that I had broken the skull. I told the others who were with me to put the two bodies together, and they were burnt. I knew this was only the beginning. Just as I knew that the murdered man had been my Sunday School teacher, Ralph, and didn't realize it till after he landed on me.... ::I knew I had to take charge of the situation. I knew that Ralph had been attacked by these things the night before, and I knew they were still out there. I ordered people to go back to their homes, to get out their guns, and to board up their windows. It was this last order that still causes me nightmares. You see, that night, one of those "things" broke into Gerald Romero's house, and attacked him, and his entire family. Now, instead of one or two of those things running (or hobbling) around, there were now more than seven. And, with seven of those things, no amount of window and door reinforement could keep them out. Each time they got into a house, their numbers grew..... And there was no escaping the houses. All of the doors, except the one broken down, were still boarded up. I had unwittingly sent all of those people to their deaths. Their blood was on my hands. But, I didn't have time to think about that then. I had to get my family out of the house, and escape. I got everyone into my car, and supplies thrown in as well. Each of us; my brother, Hunter, my mom, Marcia, and my dad, Steve, and myself had a gun. I started to drive up main street, only to be met by a mob of those "things". But I wasn't goint to stop. Instead, I slammed on the gas, and smashed throught the crowd. We discussed where we should go, and decided that perhaps the safest place would be the Muskingum County Courthouse. It was made of good, solid stone, had relatively few main floor windows, and a clock tower, from which to snipe those dead bastards. My dad was bringing his "new" Mauser k98k with us , to which he had added a scope. This would be our primary sniping rifle. As soon as we reached the Courthouse, we realized we weren't the only one who had the idea to go there. Even though the Courthouse is located in Zanesville, 5 miles from Roseville, some people had heard about what was happening over their police scanners, and called the sheriff, who began organizing a posse to defend the city. My dad and I eagerly joined, knowing it was our duty. ::The members of the Posse climbed into one of ten of the Sheriff Dept.'s SUV's, each one with a member standing up throught the sunroof, to act as a Gunner. As fate would have it, I was ordered to be the gunner for my squad's SUV, and made Squad Leader over them. Since I had been given these honors, I was given an M249 5.56 Nato Machine gun, which the sheriff had aquired from the (ahem, unguarded) National Guard Armoury. That baby could shoot over 1000 rounds per minute, perfect for Gunner duty. Our destination: the intersection of US 22 and State Route 93, between Roseville, and Zanesville. We made a barricade with the vehicles, and set up a mine field about 1000 meters down the road, coupled with C4 charges. We took up positions behind the vehicles. All that was left was to wait for the worm-feed to arrive. I was right beside my dad. He looked scared, yet, he kept smiling. I don't know why I remember that.... :: It was 3 hours before "they" got there. And, what we saw scared us. Instead of 2000 dead people coming at us, we saw what was easlily over 5,000 of them. Apparently, there had been more than one or two when the attacks began. So, the odds seemed bleak: 5,000 of them, versus about 70 of us. That's roughly 71:1 odds against us. But, we couldn't retreat. People were counting on us. Oh, sure, there were other Posse members, and even a few National Guardsmen at the city limits, but we were the first line of defence. We couldn't give up. We just couldn't... :: The first attack we made was with our Sniper units; my father, Ramirez, Henkle, Vaughn, Boston, Guthrie, Walker, and several others. They began firing when the horde was roughly 1500 meters away. Every round dropped at least one of the flesh-eaters, and some even dropped two. By the time they were 1000 meters away, we had dropped about 200 of them. Then, we saw an explosion that took out a 30 ft. radius of the horde. It was a mine that we had planted. Soon, there was a symphony of explosions from the mines, and the C4 charges. By the time they were 800 meters away, another 1000 had been "re-killed". That still left a hell of a lot of stink bags left for us to take care of. I was ready for them. I had the M249, my P-08, and my Saber. When the sheriff gave the order, we all opened fire according to the effective ranges of our weapons. Snipers fired first, then riflemen, then we machine gunners. The best way to describe the carnage before us would be a meat grinder. Bullets were ripping the stagnant dead to pieces, and by the time they were within 100 meters, we had dropped another 1000. We kept firing until we were out of ammo for our main weapons. Then, we turned to using our sidearms. When they were within 50 meters, I started firing my P-08 at them. It fired with the same precise accuracy it had in WWII, as I dropped 6 of them with a single clip of 8 rounds. I then reloaded with my favorite 32-round drum magazine. Out of 32 rounds, I dropped 27 of the soulless walkers. When I ran out of pistol ammo, I knew that I would probably have to use my sword in close quarters. And that scared me more than just about anything. I drew my saber, and stood at the ready. My compatriots saw this, and drew their own melee weapons. Most of them were carrying police batons, and some, like my father carried sporting equiptment, such as golf clubs, baseball bats, and croquet mallets. We said our goodbyes to each other, and I hugged my dad. I knew that I wouldn't see some of those men ever again. As squad leader, I climbed up on the hood of the SUV, and raised my sword. Everything seemed so quiet as I cried out "CHARGE!"....... ::I was the first to make contact with the enemy. I began slashing, stabbing, and chopping at them, as if they had been practice dummies. I forget how many I ended with my sword. It all happened so fast. Over an hour later, my arm was tired, and I was covered in their putrid blood. I killed the last one in that horde. I looked back at my men, and saw the relief in their eyes. We had lost several good men in the fighting; Edwards, Kennedy, Rushcreek, Higgins, Carter, and White. I looked into every soldier's eyes, and knew that the rest were okay. Until I realized that one of my men was missing. My soul froze when I realized that that man was my own father. We searched the area, until we found him. And he was still alive. But, my heart sank when I realized he had been bitten. I knew what had to be done, but I couldn't do it. He looked me in the eyes, and said: "Matt, I've never been more proud of you than I am right now. But, please son, don't let me turn into one of those things." I still couldn't bring myself to do it. So, I handed my dad, my father, the man I had idolized my entire life, a pistil, with one round in the chamber. He seemed to understand. I hugged him one last time, and when I stood up, he saluted me. I couldn't hide the bitter tears any longer. So, I saluted him, and ordered my men back to the SUV's. As I walked away, I heard one last bang. You know, it's funny: You go through the entire battle, with guns going off all around you. Yet, that one shot seems to be the loudest you've ever heard. My men and I reported back to the Courthouse as heroes. It wasn't easy telling the rest of my family what happened to dad, but, I knew I'd see him again one day. ::The next day, we heard a flash warning over the SatCom. "Warning to everyone in the vicinity of Zanesville! Get out while you *crackle* can! There *crackle* thousands of them! Coming from the North!" We were being hit by a pincer movement. We stopped one wave from the South, but we didn't think any would come from the North. I knew it was too easy.... Chapter 2 ::I knew this time, we couldn't withstand the army of the dead. The horde that came from the South had numbered over 5000. But, after what the man on the radio said, I knew that there were many, many more on the way. "Dear Jesus! There's thousands of them! *crackle* Get out of there! *crackle* They'll be there in a days' time! *crackle* An Army battallion is en route to your location, but they won't get there in time!" he warned us. According to our remote monitoring stations, we were dealing with a horde consisting of at least 160,000, but that number would swell until it got there. It wasn't an easy decision, but I knew it had to be made. "Alright everyone! Listen up! The Army is on the way, but they won't get here in time to evacuate us. And there's no way we can evacuate the entire city in a day. So, instead of running like cowards, I say we stand and fight!" I cried out to the people. It was met with silence... The silence of fear, and uncertainty. I had to make a plan, and fast. If the people lost hope, they'd only be one step above those devils we were fighting. ::Four hours later, I believed I had a plan that just might work. I knew we'd never be able to set up a defense on the North end of Zanesville. It's spread out over miles. Instead, we could set up obstacles to slow them down. The Courthouse is on the Eastern side of the river, and the Horde is advancing from the Western side. So, if we destroyed the bridges, they'd have to find another way across. ::We had to hurry if we wanted to destroy the bridges in time. We had several hundred kilograms of C4 on hand, more than enough for the job. So, we went about our work. I sent a team of two men to each river crossing to set the charges. Everything was going according to plan... until... "Dear God! They're here! They're f--king here! *gunshots* Requesting assistance! *gunshots* Murphy! *choking sound* Help u......*moans*" the radio went dead. Murphy and Chavez had been sent to the crossing on Underwood street. It was too late to save them now. And there was no way to detonate that bridge now. We had to fight after all..... ::"Attention! All personnel! We have a breach on Underwood! All units convene on this location!" my voice echoed over the intercom system. I turned to the desk, and picked up the detonator switch for the other charges. I said a prayer for Murphy and Chavez as I pressed the button. In the distance, like thunder, I heard the collapse of the bridges. Now, we could focus all of our attention on Underwood, where all of my men were now headed. I knew I had just sent many of them to their deaths. There was no chance for my force of a few hundred to fend off 180,000 of those things. All I could do, was hope that the Army got there soon, or hope that I die with my men. With that, I grabbed my sword, and my guns, and headed off to Underwood.... ::When I arrived, I found my men to be holding back the storm. But, I knew that if we didn't get help soon, we'd be overrun. Today, I wasn't carrying my M249. Instead, I carried my father's k98k. Immediately, I began picking off the dead-heads at the front of the crowd to relieve some pressure on my men. Then, it happened: 3 men broke formation at the front. In that momentary lull in fire, the creatures advanced. I raised my rifle to my shoulder, and lined up the crosshairs on the skull, and pulled the trigger. One of the deserters fell dead. Then another, and then the last one. I then turned back to the battle, and saw a horrible sight. The corpses had broken through our lines. My men were being slaughtered, and there was nothing I could do. I laid down my weapons, and knelt down on the ground. I was waiting for one of them to kill me, when I heard an unfamiliar sound. The sound of Angel wings.... And I felt the Earth shake as tanks, and men came to our aid. Even with the reinforcements, the fight would still be long and hard. We were still outnumbered. That is, until the airstrike across the river.... ::The airstrike was a carpet bombing mission. It leveled much of Northern Zanesville. But, it also destroyed many of the creatures. Don't get me wrong, there were still thousands of those fell beasts left, but we had an advantage now. To show my support for my men, I went to the front line, and dug in, this time, with my M249 again. I unleashed a rain of leaden fury unto the beasts. They fell left and right. I swept from side to side with machine gun fire to assure that none escaped. The tanks loaded high explosive incendiary rounds, and aimed for the center of the bridge to incinerate the dead. The attack helicopters overhead fired their cannons into the horde, ripping them to shreds. When they fired their rockets, vast swathes of the dead were swept away. I then called back to Base Camp, and ordered that the flame throwers be brought up to the front. With these, we could sterilize the corpses, and make them safe to handle. The most horrific part of using the flame thrower on a human corpse is the smell. You can never get used to the smell. But, after that fight, it didn't bother me at all. It smelled like a job to be done..... ::It was clear that we were going to win the battle. There was no chance that we could lose. And we didn't. Except me, that is. I let my guard down as I patrolled the battlefield. When I wasn't paying attention, one of the corpses lunged up, and bit my leg. I cut its' head off with my sword, but, it was too late for me. I made up my mind that before I die, I wanted this story to be recorded for posterity. And that I might be remembered for my service to the people of Zanesville. I will not allow myself to turn into one of those things. Therefore, I have no option but to "end it". This is Matt R., signing out.........